Today's Gospel reflection is this: How is the Gospel affecting your study of Scripture?

We often use the excuse that we don't like to read to cover up the fact that we aren't in the Word. But with today's technology we don't have be avid readers to hear from God's word. We don't even have to be able to see. Scripture is now read on dozens of different websites in dozens of translations. This is Scripture on video, cd, and even downloadable for your iPod. There are a million excuses for us not desiring to hear from God through His word. But when it comes down to it, the biggest reason is that we don't think we need it.

Psalm 42 starts out, "As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God." Why does a deer pant for water? Because it needs it. One of the amazing things about the Gospel is that as we grow in the Gospel, we realize more fully the holiness of God as well as the depth of our sin. As this happens we see our desperate need for the grace of God. We need His truth. We need His wisdom. We need His instruction.

My challenge for you today is for you to examine your practice of studying, listening to, reciting, interacting with Scripture. How is the Gospel affecting it?

Though we often try to rename what we do to earn enough money to take care of our families and live as "career," nothing changes the fact that work is work. And because it is so, today's Gospel reflection is timely. So today's questions for you to ponder is: "How is the Gospel affecting work?"

How is the Gospel affecting your attitude at work?

How is the Gospel affecting your relationship with co-workers?

How is the Gospel affecting your ability to "give witness to the light" at work?

Has work become a place of retreat where you throw off the Sunday version of you for a more comfortable version who can let it all hang out? Are you married and flirting with co-workers...or worse? Do you drop down to the least common denominator when it comes to your mouth just to fit it like you are having flashbacks to the Jr. High playground?

Work is no longer "private life." Unless we work at a LifeWay store...and sometimes even then...we are rubbing shoulders with people who do not know King Jesus. How is His Gospel affecting how you live in these situatins?

I share all of that to introduce today's Gospel reflection. What is the Gospel (the life, death, resurrections and future coming of Jesus) doing to your family relationships? How is the Gospel affecting your relationship with your parents? Maybe they were the best parents a 1950's sitcom could ever ask for or maybe they were absent, un-affectionate jerks. Maybe their sins have greatly affected you. Even still...how is the Gospel affecting that relationship?

If you have kids, how is the Gospel affecting those relationships? Are you doing your darndest to lead them in the "fear and admonition" of the Lord by dropping their hind-ends off at Sunday school and nursery on Sundays and then putting in Veggie Tales throughout the week or are you teaching them the Gospel through word and deed? Are you being transparent enough for them to see the impact that Gospel has on your life...sin and repentance galore?

What about siblings? Has someone offended you beyond your perceived ability for forgiveness? Do you fret family get-togethers because that brother or sister is going to be there and they are sure to bring "that" up again?

It has been said that we hurt the ones we love the most. I think that we often sin around and against the ones we love the most and are less likely to walk through biblical repentance and reconciliation with them because "they know us" so well.

Today, my challenge is that you would take a few moments and reflect on how the Gospel is affecting your family relationships. Allow the Holy Spirit to search the deep crevices of your heart. I am happy to say that the Gospel has done amazing things in my relationship with my dad. Forgiveness that I had held from him for years, though he was unaware, has been granted...not because I am a good person but because the Gospel and grace of Christ has penetrated my heart and allowed me to. I pray you find similar freedom today as you reflect on how the Gospel affects your family.

But for us to be Christians that are obedient to our King Jesus, we must wrestle with and engage the issue of evangelism. Some believe relational evangelism is the way to go. But what does that mean? How deep of a relationship do you build before you let them know that you love Jesus and want them to too? Plus, if you were like me and grew up in a youth group of a strong, growing church you have seen and probably played a part in the skits where you have a friend that you never told about Jesus and they die in a drunk driving accident only to transfer from the fiery pile of car parts to the fiery torments of a literal, eternal hell. No one wants that.

 Scripture tells us that the purpose of the Church is to be a outpost of the Gospel in the world. We as Christians are individually called to bear witness to the light of the truth of Christ while corporately as the Church we do as well.

 So today's Gospel Reflection is this: How is the Gospel affecting your friendships?

Do you really desire for your non-Christian friends to one day come to the knowledge of Christ or are you using your view of "relational evangelism" as a cop-out for never having to tackle the tough work of sharing the Gospel in a personal way with people who need to hear it?

Do you even have friends who aren't Bible-reading, Christian-bumper-sticker-donning, Jesus-fish-displaying Church enthusiasts?

Are your friendships with other Christians Gospel-centered? Meaning...do they have any substance...are they a reflection to the world of what friendship looks like under the Lordship of Christ? 

Are you withholding the most important subject you could ever share with your friends in conversation (Jesus) because you want to build "street cred" first?

My challenge today is to reflect on this question and allow God the Holy Spirit to dig deep into your heart and show you the answers to these questions.

You should be able to catch the audio from tonight's sermon in the next couple days. Until then, suffice it to say that Scripture's overall voice tells us that the church corporately and Christians individually are "sent" to bear and share the Gospel. How is the life, death, resurrection, and future coming of Jesus affecting your understanding of that mission?

Small Groups

One of the best ways for us to build and grow relationships is through small groups. Small groups meet midweek, are diverse in age and life stage and welcome visitors every week. If you are looking to connect, please contact one of the leaders below.  If you have any questions about small groups you can contact Todd Genteman, todd@augustgate.com.

Konieczka Small Group (pronounced kuh-nitch-kuh)
Time: 7pm Tuesday Nights

Location: 2817 Smokehouse Way, Belleville, IL 62221

Hosts: Scott and Kelly Beth Konieczka

Leader: Scott Konieczka

Smith Small Group
Time: 7pm Tuesday Nights

Location: 4050 Wyoming Street, Saint Louis, MO 63116

Hosts: Jacob and Amy Smith

Leader: Josh Jones

Genteman Small Group

Time: 7pm Wednesday Nights

Location: 1820 A S. 9th Street, Saint Louis, MO 63104

Hosts: Todd and Juliette Genteman

Leader: Todd Genteman

Oldham Small Group

Time: 7pm Wednesday Nights

Location: 2340 Lafayette 3L, Saint Louis, MO 63104

Hosts: Noah and Heather Oldham

Leader: Matt Flummer 

Phone: (314) 884-1212

Mailing address: 2340 Lafayette Ave 3L St. Louis, MO 63104 

Office Address: 1608 Menard Street St. Louis, MO 63104

Meeting Location: 1809 S. Eighth St. St. Louis, MO 63104

August Gate is a new church in the city of St. Louis. Our mission is to be a church community that seeks to love God because of the Gospel, love people toward the Gospel, and restore the city with the Gospel. We gather on Sunday evenings at 5:00pm at the Trinity Lutheran School House located at 1809 S. 8th Street in Soulard.  There is parking available on the streets as well as the marked lot north of the church. We would love for you to join us. 

What to Expect

It is no secret and we don’t apologize for the fact that August Gate was planted to reach a younger generation of the unchurched in St. Louis. The 20's and 30's are the most unchurched generation our nation has ever seen. Because we want to reach everyone with the Gospel, especially the most unchurched, our worship gatherings won’t have a lot of what you might call your grandpa’s “old time religion.” We have stripped off many of the non-essentials of tradition while we seek to hold tight and true to the essential elements of the Christian faith; namely, the Gospel.

Please come dressed as you feel comfortable. Be ready for a 40-minute sermon and 25 minutes of worship based in Scripture. Every week we have hang out time before and after the worship service including snacks, coffee, tea and other drinks. You should expect several people to try to connect with you.

Just So You Know

We want August Gate to be a church for the angry atheists, the callous cynics, and the dubious doubters. We want it to be a church gathering to which you can invite people who won’t go to church. We hope we can be a place where you can bring people to hear the gospel and not be embarrassed by the peripheral elements of all things “churchy.” We want to be a church that redeems truth and church in the eyes of the world.  

For more information email us: info@augustgate.com

To understand what it means to grow in the Gospel and community through confession and repentance, we have to answer three questions.

First, what is biblical confession? In the fifth chapter of James we hear James' teaching on what it looks like to experience the struggles in life in gospel community. This is what he says in verse 16: "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." The word "confess" is exomologeo which means to confess from the heart, freely, publicly and openly. Therefore, we see that biblical confession has at least three aspects. First, biblical confession is from the heart. But is that the confession that we practice? Are we sharing our sin with others whom we can trust from the heart so that we may find healing? We tend to only confess when we get caught, and then, only out of necessity and not because we desire healing. Next, biblical confession is public. But we make confession a secret or refer to it as a private matter because us and God therefore cutting out the main tool that Christ has designed to walk us through the process of confession, the church. Thirdly, confession is openness. But as Christians in 21st century America, we're closed. We share only as much information as we deem necessary. WE try to put on this facade that we are living semi-perfect lives and only have minor things to confess every blue moon. What we are really saying when we do this is that we only needed God's grace at conversion and now, "I'll take it from here, Jesus." True confession is openly sharing the sin in our lives with Christian brothers and sisters because we desire and know we will find healing.

The second question we have to answer is What is biblical repentance? In Matthew 3:8, John the Baptist gives us a glimpse at what biblical repentance is when he rebukes the Pharisees and Sadducees who had come to check out the baptisms that he was giving but had become a spectacle in their minds. He tells them to "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance." The word for repentance is metanoia and it means a change of mind, as it appears to the one who repents, of a purpose one has formed or of something he has done. Therefore we see at least three aspects of biblical repentance. First, biblical repentance is a change of mind. Instead of denying our ability to have done something , we have to realize that our sin nature is capable of anything and in need of continual transformation. Next, biblical repentance is a change of purpose. Deeper than just specific actions, true repentance doesn't try to just take care of the symptoms, but digs deeper into our hearts (which Calvin called "factories of idols") and renounces the deep idolatry producing the specific sins. Thirdly, biblical repentance is a change of action. John the Baptist told the Pharisees and Sadducees to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. We claim to be powerless, but James told us to bridge out tongues, Paul told us to flee from sexual immorality, and the write of Hebrews told us to not give us meeting together. True repentance means we willfully reject the old min, old purpose, and old actions and then obey the commands of Christ.

The third question we must answer to understand how we grow in the Gospel and community through confession and repentance is "What hinders biblical confession and repentance in the church?" There are four things that I have found that will completely kill the ability for a church to be a confessing and repenting group of people who find healing from their sins.

 First...Gossip. In 1 Timothy 5:13 Paul gives us two words for the practice of gossip and busy-bodiness. The first literally means to blow bubbles in water...you know, like you did during swim lessons as a kid. At the root of gossip is talking too much. Like the bubbles, our words are full of nonsense and there is no substance. The other word means that these people make themselves busy in other people's affairs. When gossip is present, everyone is afriad to be open. Therefore, when you find gossip in your church, you must give it a quit death.

 Second...Lack of Love. In Romans 12:10, Paul tells us to love one another with a brotherly affection. The church is not a country club where only people that we approve of are welcome in. One of the main things Jesus told his disciples the might before he was crucified was to love one another. He did so because He knew it would be one of the hardest things for them (and us) to do.

Third...Distruct. Though usually a product of the first two, distrust can be just as deadly. Maybe you've been burned before and because of that burning you have sworn that it will never happen again. You may not say it, but you keep people at an arm's distance, making them prove themselves by jumping through hoops.

Fourth...Lack of Gospel. Bob Thune defines a Gospel-centered church as one in which the members of the congregation are "gospelling one another." This means they are speaking and shaping the gospel in one another. This can only happen as we practice confession and repentance with one another...challenging one another in the work Christ has done on the cross on our behalf.

 This past week we took a look at our fourth core value: mission. If you check out the about us section of our website you will get a picture of all five, but here is why mission is one of our core values.

"We believe that Jesus created the Church to fulfill the mission He began here on the earth through the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe that every believer is specially equipped by the Holy Spirit to serve both the church and the world around them and should be using their gifts to the Glory of God. (Romans 12:4-6; Matthew 9:37-38; 1 Corinthians 12:4-26"

To understand what it means for the church to be on mission we have to answer the question: What is the purpose of the Church?  But before we can answer this questions, we must first answer: What is the Church? If I walked the Loop tonight and asked 100 random people their definition of "the church," I could almost guarantee 100 different, mostly random, answers. It seems that since Jesus first mentioned this entity called the church in Matthew 16, people have been trying to understand exactly what it is. To help us out, I have called upon the helped of a couple authors of a book called "Vintage Church." Through much research, this is how authors Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears define the local church.

“The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and Communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and their joy.” 

Therefore when it comes to the outward purpose of the church we see two elements at work…

First we see the Great Commandment as described in Mark 12:28-31. Jesus tells us that we are to love God and love people. Let me take a moment to explain another way of viewing these two categories. Loving God means loving the Gospel. We are taught in Scripture that to love God means to obey Him. How do we know what obedience looks like? We understand God and his commands to us through the Special Revelation He has given us in Scripture. Since all of Scripture is painting one picture, an epic story of betrayal and ruin with Jesus as the hero, loving God means loving the Gospel. Loving the Gospel is loving the glory of God and God's glory is what He calls us to be about.Loving people means loving two categories of people. First, we are told by Jesus himself (John 13:35)that the world will know we are his disciples by our love for one another. Therefore, we are called to love the church, other members of the redeemed community. Next, we are called to love the culture. We are not called to become infatuated with the fallen patterns of worldliness that Scripture warns us about, but we are indeed called to love the people that make up that culture yet are not part of the redeemed community of Christ.

Driscoll borrows from Hunsberger in his work, "Radical Reformission" and explains to us the three categories that the church has found herself in today.

           (1) Gospel + Church – Culture = Fundamentalism

When the church loves the Gospel of God and loves each other yet  neglects the culture around them, they fall into fundamentalism. This is the isolationist view that has caused the church to seem to much of the world as the angry, bigoted rally of rednecks that hates anything progressive and everything fun.

            (2) Church + Culture – Gospel = Liberalism

 When the church loves itself and the culture around it but fails to love the Gospel, it falls into liberalism. This is what happens when so-called Gospel communities begin to neglect the truth of Scripture and in exchange, rallies around causes. Kenneth Gengel once said, "the problem of the gospel of a cause is that it offers itself as a substitute for the gospel of the Cross." In this, the church does a good job of caring for the culture around them, but by denying the Gospel they are not loving it the way God has called them to and are instead loving with a false love...a love that does not share the truth of the Gospel, that fallen culture must be redeemed or suffer the consequences of the rebellion it was birthed out of.

            (3) Gospel + Culture – Church = Para-church

The third manifestation of the church today is the para-church organization. This happens when the church loves the Gospel, and therefore rallies everything around it...and loves the culture and therefore goes to it.... but does not love the church and forgets about it. To quote a section from Derek Webb's "The Church"..."There's none that can replace her, there are many who will try. Though some may be her bridesmaids, they can never be my bride." Jesus died for and is coming back for his church, not an organization whose core values are fun, food, and fellowship.

If we as August Gate want to get things right, we must hold all three loves of the Great Commandment in perfect balance. We must first love God because of the Gospel, love people towards the Gospel, and restore the city with the Gospel. It is our hope to shed all the denominational junk that has plagued the church for centuries and truly be a Gospel-centered missional church. To do this, we must love God, His church, and the culture around us.

            (4) Gospel + Church + Culture = Mission Church

When we do, we will be a church that gathers to worship God and hear from His word, a church that loves and gets along with one another (imagine that ever happening) and a church that understands its sending into the world by a mission-minded God who desires to seek and save the lost.

The second element of outward mission we see is the Great Commission which Jesus gives to His disciples and all who would come after them in Matthew 28:16-20. The original Greek language of Matthew 28 puts the focus on making disciples, which is done in three ways…going, baptizing and teaching. From this verse we see the impetus for two of the main forms of church in Evangelicalism today.

First we have the Evangelism Church. They believe the greatest call for the church is to make disciples by evangelizing or sharing ones personal testimony with anyone and everyone they come in contact with (or just on visitation nights). Because this is their main focus they put a huge emphasis on witnessing and seeker services. They want to cater to people who are thinking through this whole "Jesus thing" and make them as comfortable as possible as they do.

Next, we have the Discipleship Church. They believe the greatest call for the church is to train disciples through education of God's word. Because of this they put a huge emphasis on programs and preaching. These pastors usually (but not always) wear suits to preach in, slam their fists on the pulpit a lot and/or insist on reading out of the KJV. No matter where you go in this church's building you will find programs revolving around education through God's word. There is Sunday school, children's church, Awana, Bible drills, etc. etc. etc. The adults have a number of classes to choose from, ranging from Dave Ramsey's financial studies to learning to climb out of deep, dirty holes with Beth Moore. 

If we're honest, a lot of churches are a blend of both...and here are a few errors that stem from understanding the church primarily and first in these two ways. First, both have their flaws because they have taken their foundation for granted. These have pulled their source of legitimacy from Matthew 28, but have neglected the phrase that comes before the one they hold as their mission statement. Next, they often look to the other method whenever they see a lack of momentum or effectiveness. Whenever seekers aren't showing up and knocking down the doors, the evangelism church decides they need to train their people more and go into a season of discipleship. When the discipleship church isn't seeing progress in the lives of those being discipled, they turn to a season of evangelism to give people purpose. Thirdly, neither will be able to put forth a sustainable effort until they understand a sense of mission.

Missional churches are the third category and they are the kind of churches that I desire for August Gate to be. These churches understands that while evangelism and discipleship are basis essential elements in the church being the church, they are incomplete if their foundation and impetus is missing. This foundation and impetus is the "going" part of Matthew 28...the emphasis on being sent.

Take a minute and read Romans 10:13-17.  In it, Paul explains that we can't make disciples out of people until they experience conversion. Conversion can't happen without someone hearing the Gospel. The Gospel can't be heard unless someone is sent to proclaim it!

“[Being a missional church] requires that every Christian and church realize that missions is about not something they do but something they are. We are all on a mission with Jesus every day, and we are either good missionaries or bad.” (Radical Reformission, 66)

 If we are going to understand the Gospel fully, we have to understand the doctrine of mission from Scripture.

In Matthew 10:16 and Luke 10:3 we see Jesus' disciples going through a form of "preseason training" as Jesus sends them out as "sheep among wolves." The Greek word used here for sending is apostello which carries with it the understanding of being sent on a mission, being sent forth, or being sent to an appointed place.

Luke 10:2 shows us the Greek word ekballo which means to thrust, cast out, or throw. Jesus here is telling us that our prayer shoudl be for God to not just send missionaries, but to violently thrust them into the world.

In John 20:21, Jesus uses the Greek word pempo which means to thrust or insert. Just as Jesus was sent for a purpose, He is thrusting us out or inserting us into the world for that same purpose.

Let me wrap this up by saying this: every church has two choices. First, they can build a monument. They can create an organization that will bring an initial attraction. But it will eventually fade and falter because it sits still and calls for the culture to come to it. Building a monument allows people to compartmentalize their lives between the sacred and profane. Everything involving the monument is holy and therefore they act one one and everything away from it is common and they can finally let their hair down.

The other option is to be a part of a movement. They can follow the commandment of Jesus no matter where they are or when they living. They can follow the follow the example of the early church and live lives that proclaims that the Jesus movement equals life. They can let their very existence being the Gospel mission. I pray that we at August Gate will be a part of the Gospel movement that Jesus because almost 2000 years ago. I pray that we will hold the love of God, the church and the culture in perfect balance and that we will understand that the only reason we have the ability to evangelize and disciple is because we are first sent.

Jesus told us that we would know the truth and the truth that we know would set us free. So why aren’t Christians everywhere living with the freedom of the Gospel? One of the main reasons is that we don’t know the truth. We haven’t hidden God’s Word in our hearts. Although we may be the most Bible saturated culture in the history of the world with every version, color, and style sitting on our Christian bookstore shelves, we are also one of the most biblically illiterate. We have access to the Bible but we don’t read the Bible. For two months this summer we are encouraging our fellowship at August Gate to journey together through Scripture…reading, listening, and engaging. This reading plan will be light but meaty, varied yet consistent, possible for anyone but requiring discipline from everyone.

If you don’t have a Bible, we will give you one. Plus, you can try certain free online resources such as biblegateway.com, esvonline.org, and blueletterbible.org.

Listen.

For the first few thousands years of the people of God, the way that people experienced the Word of God was through aural transmission (with their ears). Prophets preached, apostles proclaimed, teachers taught. Only since the invention of the printing press in AD 1440 have we all had the opportunity to have our hands on written Scripture in such a way that we could have personal, private experience with God’s special revelation. To hold it. To feel it. To beat ourselves up over the fact that we sometimes enjoy reading comic strips rather than the only book our Creator ever wrote. Because we often forget this fact (or really had no idea) we often neglect the value of hearing the Bible. But in our culture of podcasts and Pandora, multi-tasking and miles of commute, we need to return to this mode of experience to encounter Scripture in an old/new way. Read it first then listen second or listen first then read it second, read while you listen, take turns reading it out loud with your spouse or children…whatever works.

Check out esvonline.org, type in your chosen section of Scripture and click listen next to the heading or pay your best friend to read the Bible to you in their best British accent.

Engage.

The Bible speaks of itself and says that it is “sharper than a two-edged sword.” That is Christianese for “it has the ability to mess you up!…for the better.” This best-selling book of all time didn’t gain popularity as a table coaster or paperweight. It has not been translated into almost every known know language because it looks nice on a shelf. The Bible is the Word of God because the Holy Spirit inspired its writing and the Holy Spirit inspires its reading (and hearing) in such a way that it actually changes our lives…for real. But we see this happen as we engage it. Reading the Bible isn’t like reciting some magical incantation that causes spiritual things to happen because we read it with the right voice inflection. Things happen when we engage it with the right heart position. As we say at August Gate, its not our role to just read Scripture, but to allow Scripture to read us. Because of this, the third part of our Scripture plan is to engage the Word. One of the best ways to do this, is to journal about what you’ve just read, taking one or two thoughts from what you read each day and writing them down. You can also find a person or two to set up emails discussions with or accountability and interaction.

Go to blueletterbible.org for study tools including original languages, lexicons, and concordances. Or start a discussion thread on our Facebook page to discuss your thoughts with others.

Click on the link below to download the reading plan.

Hebrews 11 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. And I think that we are beginning to find that out. God hasn’t called any of us to a cushy, comfortable lifestyle with no chances to trust Him in faith. And this is why I know this. Faithfulness is an aspect of the character of God. This whole thing we call life, is about knowing and worshipping God for who He is and what He has done. These opportunities to trust God are opportunities to know God more. I’ve often prayed that prayer, “O God that I might know you more!” And God is always faithful. During these times He is allowing us to put our faith in Him, His call, His plan, and His provision.

We can have faith because of His faithfulness. 

Noah

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Love: We believe the greatest commandments that Christ gave to us, His followers, are to love God with every thing we are and everything we have and to love people the way God has loved us: in spite of sin and without condition. We believe that love should be the motivation of all we do and all we are.  Without love, we have no foundation for church or evangelism. (Matthew 22:36-40; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13)  

Truth: We believe that Jesus’ primary purpose in coming was to testify to truth. This truth is the Gospel. Because we bear the name of Christ we should therefore be witnesses of the truth, believing that it is only that truth – the gospel – that will set us free. (John 18:37; John 8:31-32)  

Community: We believe that God created us for community and relationships. We believe that it is God’s desire that we be in relationships in which we can be honest, confess sin, encourage one another, find unity in Christ and grow together in the faith. (Genesis 2:18; Hebrews 10:24-25; John 17: 22-23; 1 John 4:11; Colossians 3:13; James 5:16)  

Mission: We believe that Jesus created the Church to fulfill the mission He began here on the earth through the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe that every believer is specially equipped by the Holy Spirit to serve both the church and the world around them and should be using their gifts to the Glory of God. (Romans 12:4-6; Matthew 9:37-38; 1 Corinthians 12:4-26)  

Progress: We believe that God desires to sanctify the believer, grow His church, and transform the world. Therefore, we believe every believer is called to submit to the teachings of God’s Word, persevere through trials, mature in the faith, and become disciples who disciple others. (Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Timothy 4:15-16; James 1:22-25; James 1:2-4; Matthew 28:18-20)

Scripture: the Bible is the fully inspired Word of God. It has been written by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In the original manuscripts it is without error and is the final authority for all matters of faith and life. It is the only source for Christian doctrine, and is accessible to all - that is, it is perspicuous and self-interpreting, yet must be divided rightly to be effective in teaching and doctrine. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 8:31-32; John 20:31; Mark 13:31; Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 2:15)

Godhead: There is one true and living God, eternally existing in three persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. They are equal in their essential nature, attributes and perfection. Each executes a different but harmonious function.  (Genesis 1:1, 26; Deuteronomy 6:4; John 1:1, 3; Matthew 28:19; Romans 1:19-20; 2 Cor 13:14)

Father: We believe that God the father is infinite yet personal, transcendent yet immanent, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. He orders, arranges and controls all things according to His own sovereign purpose. He infallibly knows all that shall come to pass, He hears and answers prayer, and he saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.  (Luke 10:21-22; John 3:16; 6:27; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6)

Son: Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, has always existed and became man without ceasing to be God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. Jesus lived a sinless life and freely offered Himself as an atoning sacrifice for our sins through His death on the cross. After His physical, literal death, He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now is exalted at the right hand of God. He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. Jesus is the only mediator between God and man and salvation is found in no other. Anyone who accepts Him as Lord and Savior will worship Him for all eternity. (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:18-25; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:24; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 7:25; Rom 8:34; I John 2:1-2; 1 Timothy 3:16; John 14:6; Acts 4:12)

Spirit: The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and Son, and convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He is the Supernatural agent in regeneration, sanctifying and empowering all who believe in Jesus Christ. He provides those in whom He dwells with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth and guidance in doing what is right. He dwells in all believers from the moment of salvation and is the evidence and seal of that salvation. He uniquely gifts every believer to enable them to fulfill their role in the body of Christ.  (John 16:8-11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Galatians 5:22-26; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

Salvation: Man was created by God in His own image; that he sinned and thereby incurred physical, spiritual and eternal death. This brings separation from God, and as a consequence, all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners by choice and therefore under condemnation. Those who trust in Jesus Christ, repent and forsake sin are saved. We become new creatures, are delivered from condemnation, and receive eternal life, which is a free gift of God given to man by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. All glory is due to God alone, since salvation is accomplished solely through His will and action. (Genesis 1:26; 5:2-3; 2:17; John 3:14; 5:24; 1:12; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:23, 8:10)

Church: The church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made of all born-again persons of this present age. The establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament scriptures. The purpose of the church is to glorify God by building its members up in the faith by instruction of the word, by fellowship, and by keeping the ordinances for the advancement and communication of the gospel to the entire world. (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Acts 14:27; 18:22; Ephesians 2:19-22; 5:19-21 Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:23-25, Ephesians 4:11-13)

Ordinances: Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church; Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Christian Baptism is the immersion of the believer in water, which is a public testimony of the believer’s new life in Christ, his or her identification with the Lord's death, burial and resurrection, and therefore becoming part of the body of Christ, the Church. The Lord’s Supper, foreshadowed for thousands of year by Passover, was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. The elements of communion are symbolic of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and are meant to remind us of the sacrifice He made, and the hope of salvation that comes from this sacrifice. These two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 22:15-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:8; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

We have an amazing opportunity to make an impact on our community for the first time!  Todd has been meeting with the staff of the 12th & Park Recreation Center discussing how August Gate can help them as they serve the community, and our first event has been planned.  We are going to help them do some rehab to their weight room.  Cleaning, painting, and much more sweat inducing work!

When: Saturday, October 3rd from 10:00am to 2:00pm
Where: 12th & Park Recreation Center, 1410 South Tucker

Lunch will be provided, so don't let that stop you.  Let's embrace this opportunity to love our community the way we have been talking about.  Click here to view the event invite on Facebook.  For more information or if you have any questions contact Todd Genteman here.  See you there!

  Noah Oldham 

Responsibilities at August Gate: Vision, teaching, preaching
Family: Married to Heather since June 2005, Daughter, Alethia Grace, born October 2009
Education: BA from McKendree University 2005; MAR in Biblical Studies from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary 2008; MDIV in Christian Leadership from LBTS 2010. 
Hope for August Gate: to be a community so changed by the grace of the gospel that worship, service, and evangelism become the natural overflow and not painful duty; that the image of the church would be redeemed in the eyes of our city because of our reflection of Jesus; to make the gospel accessible and relevant to the most unchurched generation our nation has ever seen. 

Todd Genteman  

Responsibilities at August Gate: Community Development - including small groups and local mission
Family: Married to Juliette since October 2009, puppy, Gotham born November 2009
Education: BS in Medical Biology from SIUE 2005
Hope for August Gate: To constantly be a people who are gathering to grow in our understanding of the character of God so that we can then live out our faith on mission in our city.

 Josh Jones  

Responsibilities at August Gate: Leading worship in song and all the fun things that come with it
Family: Married to Kim since May 2005 and our dog Sophie
Education: BS from Mckendree University 2005
Hope for August Gate: To BE the church, in the truest, most biblical sense.
Blog: restorerepair.com